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Why Your Cat Is Weird

The reason ‘pspspsps’ causes mayhem, how to pet your feline overlord in precisely the right way, and why your biscuit-making companion also plays fetch.

Corrie Evanoff

Read when you’ve got time to spare.

Ever wonder what makes your cat knead you incessantly or knock over anything in reach at 4 a.m.? Dive into the science behind some of your feline friend’s weirdest behavior, from why an empty box is irresistible to what makes catnip send them to the moon.

Image by Nils Jacobi/Getty Images

A Sort-of-Common, Very Strange Cat Trick

Felines who fetch are an evolutionary mystery.

How Catnip Gets Your Cat High

This is what happens when you give a psychoactive drug to your pet.

What Cats’ Love of Boxes and Squares Can Tell Us About Their Visual Perception

“Vision has evolved to answer questions having to do with boundaries and contours.”

How to Do the ‘Cat Smile’ and Make Cats Fall in Love With You

Scientists say this one weird trick will make a cat like you, or at least not be so repulsed by you.

The Great European House Cat Migration

Studies of cat migration reveal that domesticated felines were at home in Pre-Neolithic Poland around 8,000 years ago.

Why Cats Knock Your Stuff Over—and How to Stop Them

Cats love to knock stuff over and push things off tables, which can lead to a lot of broken items. Are they mean-spirited goblins that hate your stuff? Sort of—but not exactly. Here’s the truth about this annoying behavior and how you can prevent it.

The Inner Lives of Cats: What Our Feline Friends Really Think About Hugs, Happiness and Humans

They do what they want, all the time—and can teach us a lot about how to live in the present, be content and learn from our experience.

Why Does My Cat Wake Me Up So Early, and What Can I Do About It?

Although cats are evolved for night-time activity, during domestication they have adapted to human lifestyles. There’s plenty you can do to try and get your cat to stop waking you in the wee hours.

Can a Cat Have an Existential Crisis?

Treating my cat for depression caused me to question the state of anxiety in animals and us.

The Surprisingly Complicated Physics of Why Cats Always Land on Their Feet

Ars chats with physicist Greg Gbur about his book, Falling Felines and Fundamental Physics.

What Blinking Slowly Means to Cats, According to Science

Scientists confirm that slow blinks are an effective way to connect with a cat.

Why Do Cats Knead?

Kneading is typical kitten behaviour but may be retained into adulthood because it can help communicate messages.

Why Cats Show You Their Butt, According to Science

It’s not what you think.

This Is Why Your Cat Freaks Out When You Say “Pspspsps”

Does whispering “pspspsps” trigger some deep-seated evolutionary response in your cat? Here’s what feline experts think the noise means.

Cats Recognize Their Own Names—Even If They Choose to Ignore Them

Domestic felines distinguish between their monikers and similar-sounding words, research shows.

Why Do Cats—and So Many Other Animals—Look Like They’re Wearing Socks?

The possibilities of pigmentation are endless.

How to Stroke a Cat, According to Science

Cats and humans have different ways of communicating and sometimes that can lead to problems.

14 Legends About Cats From Around the World

Are they in league with the devil? Will they steal your baby’s breath? People have thought so before.

The Next Weird Way We’re Changing Cats

What if you could make your cat hypoallergenic with biotechnology?

BONUS READ: The 9 Meanest Cats in Literature

From the Cheshire Cat to Behemoth, Macavity to Mrs. Norris.

Want More? Your Dog’s Quirks, Explained.

Answers to all your pressing questions about weird dog behavior, from head tilts to why small pups think they’re bigger than they are. Plus—is your dog really using buttons to talk to you?